Hand manipulatable power operated cutter

ABSTRACT

APPARATUS FOR CUTTING MATERIAL IN THE FORM OF STRIPS OR TAPES WHEREIN THE MATERIAL IS FORCED AGAINST A FIXED CUTTING BLADE BY A RESILIENT METAL STRIP OR RIBBON, THE RESILIENT METAL STRIP EXTENDING THE LENGTH OF THE BLADE WITH ITS MAJOR PORTION NORMALLY PROVIDING A SPACE BETWEEN ITSELF AND THE EDGE OF THE BLADE TO RECEIVE SAID MATERIAL. MOVEMENT OF THE RESILIENT METAL STRIP TOWARD THE BLADE IS ACCOMPLISHED WITH A ROLLER WHICH TRAVELS BENEATH THE METAL STRIP IN A TRACK WHICH IS PARALLEL TO THE EDGE OF THE BLADE.

3,552,012 HAND MANIPULATABLE POWER OPERATED CUTTER Richard J. Roseman, 72 Stafford Road, Colonia, NJ. 07067 Filed Aug. 6, 1968, Ser. No. 750,635 Int. Cl. B25f 3/00; B261) 1/00 U.S. Cl. 30-124 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for cutting material in the form of strips or tapes wherein the material is forced against a lixed cutting blade by a resilient metal strip or ribbon, the resilient metal strip extending the length of the blade with its major portion normally providing a space between itself and the edge of the blade to receive said material. Movement of the resilient metal strip toward the blade is accomplished with a roller which travels beneath the metal strip in a track which is parallel to the edge of the blade.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (l) Field of the invention The present invention relates to the cutting of strips of material. More particularly, the present invention is directed to apparatus for cutting eye fastener tape which has garments secured in closely spaced relation to each other along one edge of the tape. Accordingly, the general objects of the present invention are to provide novel and improved methods and apparatus of such character.

(2) Description of the prior art While not limited thereto in its utility, the present invention has been found to be of particular advantage in the garment making industry where for example, brassieres are stitched in succession and in closely spaced relation to each other on one edge of a long fastener tape. The fastener tape has a plurality of eyes spaced apart longitudinally thereon usually 'with two fasteners for each brassiere, and after the garments have been secured in proper relation to their respective eyes on the tape, the tape is severed between the garments usually by an operation using shears. To keep the line of severance close to the garment without cutting the garments requires that the operator carefully start the cutting operation between the garments, and laboriously manipulate the scissors across the tape.

While the above discussion has been concerned with fastener tapes, it is to be understood that the present invention may be used for cutting many other types of sheet or strip material and, in such utilizations, `will provide for savings in time and material when compared to prior art hand cutting methods.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes the above-discussed and other disadvantages of the prior art by providing for the cutting of strips or tapes of material in a semiautomatic manner with a light hand-held device, so that the cutting can be started at the outer edge of the tape and carried on with a minimum of manual effort toward the garment rapidly, accurately and along a nely defined line. The foregoing objects and advantages are achieved by means of a fixed straight-edged cutter blade anda resilient member, for example, a metal strip or ribbon which is opposed to the edge of the blade and normally spring biased away therefrom. When cutting is to be performed, the material to be cut, e.g., fastener tape, is inserted between the blade and resilient member, Iand the resilient 3,552,012 Patented Jan. 5, 1971 member is thereafter forced preferably by power-operated means, toward the blade so that the tape is pressed against the blade with the point of pressure applied progressively transversely of the tape from one edge, whereby the tape is severed. The urging of the resilient member toward the blade may be accomplished by any suitable means but preferably by a fluid pressure operated roller which travels along the side of the resilient member disposed away from the blade.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The present invention may be better understood and its numerous advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying drawing wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements in the various gures and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, cross-sectional, side elevation view of the embodiment of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view, taken along the line 4 4 of FIG. 3, of the preferred embodiment of FIG. l.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the four gures of the drawing simultaneously, the disclosed embodiment of the present invention is a hand held type cutter. Thus, the cutter comprises a body which includes a grip portion indicated generally at 10 and a cutter portion indicated generally at 12. Grip portion 10 and cutter portion 12 are secured to each other in any suitable manner to provide a rigid structure.

As may best be seen from FIG. 1, grip portion 10 is tubular and defines a cylinder 14 in 'which a piston 1'6 is disposed, a suitable fluid for causing movement of piston 16 in a first or forward direction is delivered to cylinder 14 via flexible supply line 18 which communicates with the end of cylinder 14 via suitable fluid tight coupling 20. Coupling 20 is integral with an end cap 22 which is bolted onto the end of grip portion 10.

In order to cause piston 16 to move in the opposite or rearward direction, a second uid connection to cylinder F14 is provided at the end of grip portion 10 which mates with cutter portion 12. This second uid connection comprises a flexible uid suply line 24 and an appropriate fitting 26. Fitting 26 mates with a bore which extends through the walls of both cutter portion 12 and grip portion 10 and permits tiuid to either be'delivered to or bled from a forward, reduced diameter portion 28 of cylinder 14. It is to be noted that the limit of forward motion of piston 16 is determined by the annular shoulder 30 which, in part, denes the reduced diameter portion 28 of cylinder 14.

A piston rod 32 extends from piston 16 in the forward direction and passes into cutter portion 12 of the tool. In entering cutter portion 12, piston rod 32 passes through a bushing 34 which may be of the self-lubricating type. Bushing 34, in addition to guiding the direction of movement of piston rod 32, also prevents the escape of operating fluid from cylinder 14.

The cutter portion 12 of the tool is substantially L- shaped and is comprised of a base member 36, which extends axially of the grip portion 14, and a vertical extension 38, extension 38 defining a recess into which grip portion 10 lits when the apparatus is assembled (see FIG. 3.). Base member 36 is provided with a substantialy rect-angular groove 40 which communicates with its upper surface. Groove 40, which may best be seen from FIG. 4, functions as a track in the manner to be described below. The forward end of track or groove 40 is provided with a resilient, shock absorbing member 42. As previously noted, piston rod 32 passes through bushing 34 and thus extends into groove 40.

Vertical extension 38 of cutter portion 12 is provided with an aperture 44 which las may also be most clearly seen from FIG. 3, receives the first end of an elongated blade support arm 46. A plurality of bolts pass through vertical member 38 and blade support arm 46 as Shown to retain the arm in the proper position. Arm 46 extends outwardly over and is parallel with member 36 and clearance is provided between arm 46 and the top of base member 36. The width of arm 46 is less than that of the base member 36 and arm 46 is provided with a recessed surface on its inwardly facing side. The dimensions of this recess, which is generally indicated at 48 in FIGS. 1 and 3, are accurately controlled so that the upper walls or shoulder S6 which defines recess 48 may function as a cam or control surface 56 in the manner to be described below.

A narrow, straight-edged cutting blade 50 is bolted t0 the wall of recess 48 of arm 46 as shown by bolts 52-52. Bolts 52 pass through elongated slots in blade 50 whereby vertical adjustment of the blade is permitted. Accurate vertical adjustment is accomplished by use of a wedge member 54 which itself is bolted to arm 46. Wedge member 54 is positioned between the shoulder 56 which defines the top of recess 48 and the top of the cutting blade S0. Wedge member 54 is provided with an elongated slot which permits horizontal adjustment of the wedge member and has a top surface which is complementary to the configuration of shoulder 56 of recess 48. Thus, the proper vertical positioning of cutting blade 50' may be accomplished by adjusting the horizontal position of wedge member 54, tightening wedge retaining screw 58 and thereafter causing the blade 56 to butt rmly against the flat, horizontal, lower surface of wedge member 54 and tightening bolts 52-52.

A ribbon-like spring steel strip 60 which is slightly less than the width of groove 4t) in base member 36 is cantilevered from a first end so as to extend into groove 40 as shown in FIG. 3. The width of the strap `60 is greater than the thickness of the blade and the strip is provided with a T-shaped rst end from which it may be supported. The spring steel strip 60 is shown with said rst end connected to and mounted on a platform or bridge member 62 which bridges groove 4() in member 36. The strip 60 and bridge member 62 are bolted to base member 36 at either side of groove 40. The strip 60 is spring loaded away from blade 50, for example, by inherent resiliency, and the unsupported end of the strip is curved as shown to insure against hangup of the strip on shock absorbing member 42 as the strip is raised and lowered in the manner to be described below.

As previously noted, piston rod 32 extends into groove 40 in member 36. In groove 40, a substantially rectangut lar piston rod extension 64 is positioned between two pair of rollers 66-66 and 68-68; the axles about which rollers 66.66 and 68-68 rotate passing through piston rod extension 64. A roller 7 0 having a width commensurate with the width of steel strip `60 rests on rollers 66-66 and 68--68 as shown in FIG. 3. Roller 70 is not journalled to other elements but rather is retained in position by the downward spring tension exerted by steel strap 60.

In operation, when it is desired to cut a fastener tape such as tape 72 of FIG. 2, the operator will insert the tape between the bottom of cutting blade 50 and spring steel strip 60, the strip being in the position shown in FIG. 3, and one edge of the tape being gripped between the blade and the strip. Thereafter, activating means, not shown, will be energized to deliver a pressurized uid to cylinder 14 via supply line 18. The pressurized fluid will act on piston 16 urging the piston and piston rod 32 forward. At this time, any fluid trapped .in cylinder 14 in front of piston 16 will be bled off via supply line 24. As piston 16 moves forward, left to right in FIG. 3,

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rollers 66 and 68 and thus roller 70 will similarly be urged forward and exert pressure on the side of the strip opposite the blade edge progressively along the length of the strip. The forward roller 70 will similarly be urged the strip. The forward motion of roller 7 0 will force spring steel strip 60 progressively upwardly thereby pressing the tape 72 between blade 50 and strip 60. This action will, of course, cause the blade to sever the tape, the pressure being applied to the tape progressively transversely of the tape from one edge of the tape. The forward motion of the roller will continue until it reaches the position shown in phantom in FIG. 3, and it will be seen that the metal strip 60 eliminates any tendency of the roller to push the ta-pe horizontally; that is, the metal strip holds the tape against movement in its own plane during the cutting operation.

When the piston 16 reaches its limit of forward motion, the cutting operation will be completed and the piston will then be returned to the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 3. Return of the piston will typically be accomplished by revers-ing the fluid supply connections to supply llines 18 and 24 whereby 'the forward side of piston 16 will be pressurized and supply line 18 will return uid from the cylinder 14 to ya reservoir.

The above-described cutting operation is rapid, Iaccurate and can be effected in a narrow space and with a m-inimum of required clearance. Also, as will be obvious, the lapparatus above described is susceptible for either semi-automatic or Aautomatic operation, automatic operation being facilitated merely by inclusion of suitable limit switches which would be operated by the insertion of a tape or strip to be cut and in response to full forward motion of the piston. It is fur-ther to lbe noted that the present invention is characterized by ease of adjustment and repair should it become necessary.

While a preferred embodiment has been shown and described, var-ious modifications and substitutions may -be made thereto without departing from the Spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustration and not limitation.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for severing material comprising:

a stationary cutting blade having a straight edge, a

resilient ribbon-like strip member, said resilient member being at least as long as the cut to be made and having a Width in excess of ythe width of the ycutting edge of said blade;

means supporting said resilient member at one end in alignment with said blade edge, said resilient member normally being displaced from said blade edge along at least a substantial portion of the blade length; and

means for urging said resilient member progressively against said blade edge whereby material inserted between said blade and said resilient member will be served by said blade, said means for urging the resilient means against the blade comprising roller means, said roller means contacting the side of said resilient member which is disposed laway from said 'blade edge, said roller means being movable along said resilient member.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said roller means comprises:

a rst roller which is in contact with said resilient means;

means for imparting linear motion to said first roller,

and

track means for directing said linear motion imparting means.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said linear motion imparting means comprises:

a cylinder;

a fluid operated piston disposed in said cylinder,

means including at least a second lroller disposed in said track means, said second roller being in operative engagement with said first roller, and

piston rod means connecting said piston to said means including the second roller.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said blade and resilient member are mounted on and said cylinder and track are formed in a housing, said resil-ient member being disposed beneath said blade and being suspended over said track.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

means for adjusting the spacing between said blade and Iresilient member.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising:

means for adjusting the spacing between said blade and resilient member.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said resilient member comprises:

a strip of metal, the spring tension of said strip being directed -away from said blade.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said resilient member comprises:

a strip of metal, the spring tension of said strip being directed away from said blade.

9. Apparatus for severing material comprising:

Iresilient ribbon-like str-ip member, said member being at least as long as the cut to be made and having a width in excess of the width of the cutting edge of the blade;

means supporting said resilient strip member at one end in `alignment with said blade edge, said resilient member normally being displaced from said blade edge along at least a Substantial portion of the blade length; and

means for apply-ing pressure to the side of said resilient strip member opposite said edge of the blade progressively longitudinally of `said strip member for urging said resilient strip member progressively against said blade edge whereby material `inserted between said blade edge `and said resilient strip member will be squeezed between said blade edge and said resilient strip member and thereby Severed.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS a stationary cutting blade having a straight edge; a 25 JAMES L. JONES, IR., Primary Examiner 

